Materials Manager

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $4B in revenue, and employ approximately 12,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

The Materials Manager is responsible for the cross-plant strategy, control, and execution of material planning, inventory management, warehouse processes, and material flow supporting OPGW and Alumoweld cable manufacturing at the Ridgeview and USAC plants. The role directly manages material-handling and inventory-control resources and ensures uninterrupted production through disciplined raw-material availability, replenishment, FIFO, traceability, incoming-material controls, interplant movement, and finished-goods coordination.

The Materials Manager develops and sustains systems that improve inventory accuracy, reduce shortages and production interruptions, control excess and obsolete inventory, optimize working capital, and support the ongoing integration of OPGW and USAC processes, systems, storage locations, and material flows.

Safety, Leadership & Team Management

• →Be the materials-function safety leader across both plants, with specific focus on forklift and powered industrial vehicle traffic, pedestrian interaction, coil and reel handling, steel storage, outside storage, loading and unloading, and safe material presentation at production equipment.
• →Directly supervise, schedule, coach, and develop material handlers and inventory-control associates supporting receiving, storage, replenishment, interplant shuttles, production staging, shipping support, and cycle counting.
• →Establish clear performance expectations and standard work; address performance, attendance, training, and certification needs in accordance with company policies.
• →Ensure compliance with EHS, quality, FIFO, traceability, 5S, inventory-control, and material-handling requirements.

Material Planning and Production Support

• →Establish and maintain min/max levels, safety stocks, reorder points, and replenishment signals for critical OPGW and Alumoweld materials.
• →Coordinate closely with Planning, Purchasing, Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Maintenance to prevent shortages and protect the OPGW and Alumoweld production schedules.
• →Maintain visibility and flow of key materials including steel rod and coils, aluminum and clad rod, feeder and finished wire, stainless-steel tube and pipe/OLT cores, optical fiber, tapes, strip, reels, packaging, and other production components.
• →Ensure wire sets and other order-specific materials are identified, staged, and available to support OPGW stranding and Alumoweld requirements.
• →Manage material priorities and handoffs between Ridgeview and USAC, including shuttle activity, in-transit inventory, temporary storage, and transfers required by production-line moves or changing schedules.
• →Ensure rework, held material, remnant material, and return-to-stock transactions move promptly and do not stall production flow.

Inventory Control, Traceability & Material Flow

• →Own inventory accuracy across raw material, WIP, remnant, in-transit, outside-storage, warehouse, and production-floor locations; lead a robust cycle-count and root-cause process.
• →Develop and enforce FIFO and lot-control processes appropriate to OPGW and Alumoweld materials, including clear status identification and physical segregation of released, held, nonconforming, and rework material.
• →Improve end-to-end traceability from receipt through storage, production issue/consumption, interplant transfer, and disposition.
• →Design visual storage locations, flow lanes, supermarkets, pull/Kanban signals, and point-of-use replenishment that reduce travel, handling, congestion, and material-search time.
• →Plan and control outside storage for steel, reels, finished cable, and other materials using defined locations, calculated capacity, weather protection, identification, and safe access.
• →Control short-length and remnant inventories and maximize approved reuse of wire, fiber, stainless-steel tube, clad/feeder, tape, strip, and other materials while protecting product and traceability requirements.

Incoming Quality, Supplier Issues & Systems

• →Establish receiving and incoming-inspection controls for critical raw materials and components; partner with Quality and Engineering to define inspection criteria, sampling plans, acceptance standards, and containment requirements.
• →Lead material containment, segregation, inventory verification, and corrective-action support when supplier quality issues affect wire, rod, fiber, stainless-steel components, or other production materials.
• →Support accurate ERP/MRP transactions and the integration of Oracle, MES, planning tools, and inventory processes across Ridgeview and USAC operations.
• →Develop dashboards and KPIs for inventory accuracy, shortages, material availability, aged/held inventory, cycle-count performance, excess and obsolete inventory, interplant transfers, material handling productivity, and production disruptions caused by material.
• →Drive Lean Manufacturing, AME, 6S, and continuous-improvement projects focused on material flow, storage, transaction accuracy, visual management, and reduced handling.

Finished Goods & Business Support

• →Coordinate with Traffic/Warehouse, Planning, Operations, and Customer Service to maintain visibility of finished OPGW and Alumoweld inventory, shipping holds, storage capacity, reel availability, and month-end shipment priorities.
• →Monitor finished-goods levels and storage locations to support customer demand while minimizing unnecessary movement, congestion, aging, and excess inventory.
• →Support Flagship-related equipment moves, plant consolidation activities, new-line startups, and future-state flow design without negatively affecting production or customer delivery.

• Visible safety leadership and strong floor presence.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause discipline.
• Ability to work independently and lead across two active manufacturing sites.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Collaborative leadership across Operations, Planning, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and Finance.
• Self-starter mentality with demonstrated ability to define, execute, and sustain improvements.

• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment.
• 3+ years of relevant materials, production, warehouse, planning, or inventory-management experience.
• 3+ years of management or supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of inventory control, cycle counting, FIFO, lot traceability, replenishment, and lean material flow.
• Working knowledge of Oracle or a similar ERP system; experience with MES and planning-system implementations is preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Power BI; experience developing operational reports and dashboards is preferred.
• Effective communication skills and demonstrated cross-functional collaboration.
• Spoken and written fluency in English.
• Experience in wire, cable, and metals manufacturing continuous and high-mix processing is preferred.

Minimum Education: High School Diploma or G.E.D.

Preferred Degree or Type: Associate or Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field.

Required Certifications: None required; powered industrial vehicle familiarity and APICS/ASCM certification are preferred. 

• 100% on-site in office, manufacturing, warehouse, shipping/receiving, and outside-storage environments.
• Regular work at both the Ridgeview OPGW and USAC facilities, including travel between the two local plants.
• Typical schedule is Monday through Friday, with flexibility for early, late, weekend, shutdown, month-end, or urgent production support as business needs require.
• Must be able to safely access active manufacturing and warehouse areas and use required personal protective equipment.
• Minimal overnight travel is expected.